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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. branch — a division
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. firm — steady
  5. wound — an injury
  6. firm — a company
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rule — government
  11. kid — to tease
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. net — in sport
  18. rule — a law
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. net — after costs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. firm — decided
  23. kid — child
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com